Each Friday we share with you the must-read, real estate news of the week. We’ve got everything you need to know to stay on top of breaking industry news and trends.

Grab your coffee and get reading!

“With The Right Mindset, 2012 Can Be Your Best Year Ever”

What does it take to have your best year ever even when the market continues to be tough? Here are two simple strategies you can implement now to make 2012 your most profitable year ever. Continue reading . . .

“Real Estate Pros Find Hope, Hot Spots For 2012”

This new year might be the one in which the housing market starts to strengthen, according to the 2012 predictions of several housing industry observers and experts. Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia.com, says he sees rising rents, a humble recovery in housing prices and even some unexpected “hot” spots where he thinks price increases will exceed the average this year. Continue reading . . .

“Fed Says Expand Fannie, Freddie Role To Aid Housing”

The U.S. government-run mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could play a bigger role in turning around the battered U.S. housing market, the Federal Reserve told Congress, a call that looks set to run into stiff political opposition. The Fed, in a paper sent to lawmakers on Wednesday, outlined an array of steps that could be taken to help the housing sector, including allowing Fannie and Freddie to provide cheaper mortgages to a broader pool of homeowners. Continue reading . . .

“9 Markets With Rising Real Estate Values”

Metro areas off the beaten path, like Oklahoma’s Tulsa and Oklahoma City, bucked national trends to win a place on a top list of markets with the greatest year-over-year median home-value increases from October 2010 to October 2011, based on data compiled by Zillow. None of the top 20 U.S. metro areas by population size cracked this list. The Tulsa metro area topped the chart at a 6.2 percent median home value increase to $101,000 — the lowest value among the nine markets — in that one-year timespan, followed by Oklahoma City’s metro area at a 3.1 percent bump. Metropolitan Pittsburgh, at No. 22 in U.S. metro population size with 2.35 million people in 2010, according to U.S. Census data, was the most populated metro area in this list, coming in at No. 8, with a slight median home-value increase of 0.4 percent, and, interestingly, the only metro area on the list to experience a population dip from 2000 to 2010. Continue reading . . .

The real estate market continues to flatline throughout most of the country. But in Washington, D.C., housing prices are up a smidgen (0.3%) from the previous month. More importantly, year-over-year prices have risen by 1.3%, a continuation of a happy trend in which prices increased by 2.6% from the year before that. When comparing housing markets in America’s big cities, D.C. appears to be having the strongest and steadiest recovery. But why? What’s making D.C.’s housing market work while others flail? Continue reading . . .

“Forbes 30 Under 30: Real Estate”

This week Forbes released their list of the top “30 Under 30” in real estate which includes our friends Austin Allison of DotLoop, Sha Hwang of Trulia and David Vivero of RentJuice.com. Continue reading . . .

“Promote Your Facebook Presence Offline With Timeline Business Cards”

So this isn’t exactly a “read”, but we couldn’t resist sharing this opportunity to promote your Smarter.Bolder.Faster. self by showing off your Facebook chops with Timeline business cards. Inman Connect in New York City is next week and these make the perfect calling card! You can order 50 cards for $15. Continue reading . . .

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MollyMolly is a member of the @C21 social media team. When she's not live blogging from conferences or interviewing System members, you can find her reading about interior design, writing restaurant reviews, and imagining what the kitchen will look like in her Parisian dream home.View all posts by Molly